“Todd did a tremendous job for us and was a valuable member of our positive results on the field, as well as that clubhouse,” Cashman said, sitting at a table in a suite at the resort.

Cashman didn’t say how many times he’s met with Frazier’s agent, Brodie Van Wagenan of Creative Artists Agency. Frazier, a Toms River native, has said he would “love” to return to the Bronx after a midseason trade sent him there from the White Sox last year.

When he arrived, Frazier displaced regular third baseman Chase Headley.

Headley wouldn’t be an obstacle next season. The Yankees traded him and nearly all of his $13 million salary, alongside talented but inconsistent pitcher Bryan Mitchell, to the Padres in exchange for outfielder Jabari Blash, who doesn’t figure to be long for the pinstripes. Blash, a right fielder, is blocked by at least six outfielders on the club’s depth chart.

Frazier won’t just accept whatever the Yankees toss him, though.

A source with knowledge of his requests told NJ Advance Media early Tuesday that Frazier wants a multiyear deal. The Yankees may prefer Frazier on a one-year pact as they wait for Miguel Andujar, the team’s No. 5 overall prospect according to MLB.com, to mature into an everyday third baseman. Andujar’s bat seems ready but his defense, particularly his hands and throwing accuracy, is a work in progress, several opposing talent evaluators have told NJ Advance Media.

The Angels, who may be in the market for a third baseman, could prove as competition for the Yankees.

Cashman said the club could go into spring training with Andujar, Tyler Wade, Ronald Torreyes and top prospect Gleyber Torres competing for time at third base and at second base, where the team has a hole following the trade of Starlin Castro to the Marlins in exchange for slugger Giancarlo Stanton.

“We have some hungry, talented, inexperienced kids ready to prove they can take that next step. But at the same time, there might be some opportunities that exist, may it be free agency or trade that could make us gravitate in a different direction. So we’ll see,” Cashman said.

The Yankees will name Josh Bard as bench coach and Phil Nevin as third base coach Monday, according to a pair of sources with knowledge of the team’s personnel decisions. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because the news hadn’t been announced publicly.

Bard, 38, spent the last two years as the Dodgers’ bullpen coach and the previous three years as a scout and a special assistant. He was teammates with manager Aaron Boone with the Indians in 2005.

Since his retirement, Nevin, 46, has managed in independent ball, Double-A, Triple-A and was the Giants’ third-base coach in 2017.

The Yankees were also expected to retain Mike Harkey as the club’s bullpen coach.

The trio will join pitching coach Larry Rothschild on the Yankees’ staff, supporting Boone, who has no coaching experience.

It’s unclear who will be the Yankees’ first base coach. They also haven’t named hitting coaches. Tony Pena, who also handled the catching coordinator duties, was the first base coach. Alan Cockrell (primary) and Marcus Thames (assistant) were the hitting coaches.

Here’s what Boone had to say regarding how he would select his coaching staff when he was announced as the team’s manager last week.

“I want smart sitting next to me. I want confidence sitting next to me. I want a guy who can walk out into that room and as I talk about relationships I expect to have with my players, I expect that even to be more so with my coaching staff.

“Whether that is a guy with all kinds of experience or little experience. I am not concerned about that.”

Owner Hal Steinbrenner had said he was concerned with the idea that the Yankees may hire a manager without previous coaching experience, but he was satisfied when his front office told him Boone was their approximately unanimous pick.

Derek Jeter as a double agent, working to help his old team? That would make as much sense as suggesting the former Yankees captain would use Alex Rodriguez as his “Phone a friend” were he to ever appear on “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?”

You can bet a year’s worth of gift baskets that trading his expensive, unhappy superstar Giancarlo Stanton to the Yankees brought only unhappiness to the Marlins’ rookie CEO. That being cornered into making this deal, which resulted in sizable social-media mocking that questioned his true loyalties, has to add aggravation to what has been a very rough opening act of Jeter’s new career.

He’ll have his opportunity to defend this transaction, to insist that his ownership group has the financial fortitude and baseball savvy to pull the Marlins out of their morass. What he can’t say, but what everyone in New York knows, is this:

The last thing he wants to do is help the Yankees.

After playing baseball, Jeter’s greatest gift might be his ability to hold a grudge. Remember that turbulent negotiation during Jeter’s one experience as a free agent, between the 2010 and 2011 seasons? Jeter does.

In the first three years after he retired, Jeter made himself scarce on Yankees property. He came to Yankee Stadium out of respect for his honored teammates Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada and Bernie Williams, then when the franchise retired his own No. 2. In Tampa, where he lives full-time and the Yankees hold spring training, Jeter met off-site a few times with Yankees minor leaguers at the request of Gary Denbo, his first professional manager and perpetual swing doctor who now works as the Marlins’ vice president of player development and scouting.

So folks in South Florida, Boston and everywhere else can dispatch with the theory that Jeter wants the Yankees to add to their trove of trophies. Besides, Marlins fans can find plenty of legitimate grievances and concerns about Jeter and his chairman and principal owner Bruce Sherman.

Start with the question about money. The top asset the Marlins received from the Yankees for Stanton was payroll flexibility, as the Yankees assumed $265 million of the $295 million Stanton has guaranteed. Had the Marlins been willing to take another bad Yankees contract or pay down more of the contract, they would’ve been in position to ask for better talent in return. Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports first reported that the Marlins continue to seek out more investors.

Then go to competence. Jeter has experienced his share of missteps and misfortune already, from dismissing the franchise’s four wise men (Jeff Conine, Andre Dawson, Jack McKeon and Tony Perez) and clumsily attempting (and failing) to bring them back, to veteran scout Marty Scott getting fired while he was in the hospital recovering from surgery to treat his cancer. He also admitted at the owners’ meetings last month that he had yet to speak with Stanton, a most curious decision.

These actions gave Jeter less margin for error when it came to the Stanton trade, and man, it got hairy when Stanton made it clear he would decline transfers to both the Cardinals and the Giants. With the Dodgers’ offer of bad contracts (like Adrian Gonzalez and Scott Kazmir) unappetizing, the Marlins turned to the Yankees, who at least offered a decent player in Starlin Castro and a couple of lower-level prospects (Jose Devers and Jorge Guzman), whom Denbo knows first-hand, in addition to the bailout.

In South Florida, after this move, Jeter’s popularity probably polls similar to that of his Marlins predecessors Jeffrey Loria and David Samson — and far below beloved Miamian A-Rod. This marks more new territory for Jeter. More challenges. Both his legacy and that of commissioner Rob Manfred, who very much wanted Jeter to get this opportunity, are on the line.

He has so much to prove. Yet the proof exists already to acquit him of the most egregious charge. Rest assured that nothing would make Jeter happier than this trade creating as much Yankees agita as the A-Rod deal 13-plus years ago, and even less October success.

Carlos Mendoza and Reggie Willits are under consideration to join new manager Aaron Boone’s coaching staff.

Mendoza, 38, recently completed his fifth year as the Yankees’ minor league infield field coordinator and could be Joe Espada’s replacement as the third-base coach.

The former Yankees minor leaguer has worked with infielders Gleyber Torres, Miguel Andujar and Thairo Estrada and is highly thought of within the organization.

Espada left the Yankees following the postseason to join the Astros as the World Series winners’ bench coach.

Willits, 36, played six seasons for the Angels and has been the Yankees’ minor league outfield/base-running coordinator for the past three seasons.

When Boone, who received a three-year deal with an option, is announced Wednesday at Yankee Stadium as Joe Girardi’s replacement, the Yankees won’t officially have a bench coach, hitting coach, first-base coach, third-base coach or bullpen coach. Nevertheless, there are indications Mike Harkey will return as the bullpen coach.

The Yankees announced Monday that pitching coach Larry Rothschild will return for his eighth season.

Former Yankees bench coach Rob Thomson moved to the Phillies for the same job. Alan Cockrell and Marcus Thames, the Yankees’ hitting coaches the past two seasons, could return. Like all Yankees coaches, they were granted permission to look elsewhere for work following the ALCS loss to the Astros. Tony Pena just completed his 12th season on the big-league staff, the past six as the first-base coach.

Ohtani, 23, is considered one of the best talents to have come out of the country and the Yankees were expected to be heavy front-runnersto nab him.

“We have been informed today that we have been eliminated from the Ohtani sweepstakes, so we are out,” Cashman said. “I got a call (Sunday), this afternoon, the first round was presentations. And I don’t know who’s invited to Round Two, but we’re not.

“I started getting a feel that wasn’t good a few days ago. I knew that our presentation was excellent. The feedback from that was outstanding, but I did get a sense that I can’t change that we’re a big market and I can’t change that we’re in the east. So that was something that presentation or not, might be a difficult thing to overcome. But we would see. Then I got the unfortunate news today that we were out of the picture. That does not mean that anybody east coast and anybody big market is out of the picture. I can’t speak for them. But I did get a feel that we were in jeopardy when I got praise on the presentation, but it felt like I was getting prepared for something that was coming that I wasn’t going to want to hear.”

Ohtani’s two problems with the Yankees? Cashman said he was told that it was that they’re not a small-market club, nor are they on the West Coast.

Cashman said he got the news earlier Sunday. The GM said the Yankees made a sterling presentation to his crew and that Ohtani’s agents — Creative Artists Agency — told him they were impressed, but that he received hints the pinstripes might not be in the running.

Cashman said he got the feeling that the Yankees were never really even being considered by Ohtani.

It’s a big loss for the Yankees, who had a once-in-a-generation opportunity to could slot Ohtani into the front of their rotation as a ace-level pitcher and possibly as an impact designated hitter.

“Listen,” Cashman said, “when players are in the marketplace like that, you do everything g you possibly can. In this case, we prepared with trade-deadline money acquisitions in international slot money, and we put forward everything we’re about. But if it’s not a fit, it’s not a fit. You move on and continue to engage anything that’s available to make your better…We’re proud about what we have going on here in the city with the fans we have. It’s just not for everybody. We wish him the best of luck, he’s an exciting young talent. Some fan base is going to be excited about it, but unfortunately I’m delivering news I’d rather not.”

“My understanding is that Round Two is going to be in southern California, but again we got informed that we’re not invited to that second round.”

Last season, Ohtani hit .332 with eight homers and 31 RBI in 65 games, battling various injuries. In 2016, he hit .322 with 22 homers and 67 RBI while also going 10-4 with a 1.86 ERA in 21 games (20 starts). Several scouts have told NJ Advance Media they expect Ohtani to transition into full-time pitching eventually.

“It was a pretty extensive presentation, I can tell you that. Something we were real proud about. I know we knocked their socks off, but because of the way CAA responded to us that they were amazed about the amount of time and effort and passion that was put into it. I told our staff when we filed this, if it’s not gonna be us, it’s not because of us. I felt real comfortable and confident and proud about everything that we did. I can tell you with ease, if it’s not going to be us, it has nothing to do with us and everything we did to try to put ourselves in position to be the team to secure him. It’s just not going to be us.

“We’ve scouted him since 2012, we’ve been around it and unfortunately the one thing you can’t do is get in the house and get to know the person and the player. You’re flying blind a little bit, so all you can do is educate them about who you are and what you are and let the brand stand for itself. We did that, but at the end of the day, he has an opportunity as a posted player to pick where he’s gonna be most comfortable. That’s yet to be determined, but I can just tell you that it’s not going to be the New York Yankees.”

If the Yankees attempted to pump life into the Yankees’ clubhouse by selecting Aaron Boone to replace Joe Girardi, they accomplished that goal with a big piece of the 2018 roster.

First baseman Greg Bird can’t wait to get to know Aaron Boone.

“I don’t have a personal relationship with him, but I am excited and everyone is excited to get to camp,’’ Bird told The Post via phone Saturday after a round of golf in Colorado. “We saw him when he did the ESPN games. He would come around and say, ‘What’s up?’ He seemed calm. I am looking forward to it. Everyone is looking forward to getting back to work. It didn’t work out the way we wanted it to last year.’’

That’s when the Yankees fell a game short of reaching the World Series for the first time since they won it in 2009.

Bird, a big part of the Yankees’ youth movement that includes Aaron Judge, Luis Severino and Gary Sanchez and might add 23-year-old Shohei Ohtani, has learned early on that things change.

“Joe was great to me. He is the only thing I know in the big leagues, but that is the nature of the business,’’ Bird said of Girardi being let go in October after 10 seasons at the perch Boone will inherit. “People move around.’’

In a day and age when the Yankees were looking for someone to communicate with people from all walks of baseball life as their manager they turned to Boone.

Never mind that Boone hasn’t been in a major league dugout since he retired following the 2009 season and his only exposure to the big leagues has been from the broadcast booth.

The Yankees selected Boone, 44, over five other candidates with an announcement expected this week.

Though nobody knows how Boone will turn out as a first-time manager handling a club that is expected to win 90-plus games and contend for a World Series title, his communication skills were easy to see 14 years ago when he was acquired from the Reds.

“When he was traded over here he impressed by how he transitioned to the clubhouse,’’ said John Flaherty, the Yankees’ backup catcher in 2003 when Boone joined the Yankees on July 31 and three months later carried them into the World Series with a Game 7, 11th-inning walkoff home run in the ALCS against Tim Wakefield and the Red Sox. “Everybody is talking about communication, well, he fit into the clubhouse easily and right away. That was pretty impressive.’’

Those who counter Boone’s lack of experience with the fact that he has been around the big leagues since he was seven when his dad, Bob, was a member of the 1980 World Series champion Phillies.

That was a team which featured hard-boiled players such as Pete Rose, Larry Bowa, Steve Carlton, Mike Schmidt, Greg Luzinski, John Vukovich, Dickie Noles and Tug McGraw with Dallas Green in charge. Those types of personalities have long vanished from baseball’s landscape.

“Looking back, no,’’ Bowa said if he ever imagined Boone becoming a big league manager. “But he has plenty of knowledge about baseball. The only drawback is that he hasn’t done anything at the major league level, but it is so much different now.’’

When the Yankees dumped Joe Girardi as their manager of 10 years, general manager Brian Cashman cited Girardi’s communication — or lack thereof — with the clubhouse as a chief concern. The Yankees wanted somebody with a bit more of a human touch. Someone who establishes better relationships with players.

In Boone, the Yankees will get that kind of guy, according to John Flaherty, a former Yankees catcher who played with Boone in 2003. Flaherty, now a YES Network broadcaster, said Boone had no problem assimilating into the Yankees’ clubhouse when he was traded there from the Reds that season.

Flaherty said he had known Boone as a foe from playing against him for years, but that when put on pinstripes, he did well connecting with those around him. Flaherty agreed that it was a bit similar to how Todd Frazier blended into the Yankees’ clubhouse last season.

John Munson | The Star-Ledger

2. Fresh voice

Girardi was around for a decade. Rob Thomson, the former bench coach who also got an interview for the manager’s job, was around even longer. Boone? He’s the new guy.

Boone will likely bring a new perspective to the Yankees’ clubhouse. He’s about 10 years younger than his predecessor. He’s a people person. He’s analytically inclined, from watching and listening to him on ESPN broadcasts.

3. Has a Yankees history

Aaron. F***ing. Boone. You remember it. The Red Sox remember it. It’ll go down as one of the biggest moments in not just the history of their rivalry, but in baseball, in general.

Boone’s walk-off home run in Game 7 of the 2003 American League Championship Series was epic. It came after Boone hit just .254 with six home runs in 54 regular-season games following his trade. And it came before he wrecked his knee in an offseason pickup game, forcing the Yankees to trade for Alex Rodriguez in the offseason.

The point: Boone has experienced all that the Bronx has to offer, having had his Yankees moment and reaching the World Series, albeit in a loss. That’s something he had over the rest of the candidates.

Scott Lituchy | The Star-Ledger

4. Will do well with the media

Boone became an ESPN analyst in 2010 — as soon as he announced his retirement. He’s been doing it ever since. Over that time, Boone turned into one of the network’s most recognizable faces, frequenting Sunday Night Baseball.

As an analyst, he’s had a first-hand look at what it takes to do the job of a reporter. Before games, he’s often seen chatting it up in front of dugouts and near batting cages, both with media personalities and players and coaches alike.

And in his post-interview conference call with Yankees beat reporters, that polish came through. He had an answer for just about everything. He was prepared. He was detailed. He was a bit warmer than his predecessor.

Boone is just 44 years old — the same age as Girardi when he was hired. Girardi lasted in the job for 10 years. No reason to think Boone can’t do the same, especially considering the shape of the Yankees’ roster.

The Yankees believe their en route to building the closest thing they can to the next Core Four. Aaron Judge is just 25. Luis Severino is only 23. Gary Sanchez? He turned 25 on Friday. Greg Bird is just 25, too. The point: a young Boone can get in on the ground floor of the Yankees’ next youth movement, and he could be considered part of it, himself.

6. Yankees can mold him

Boone is the new guy. The Yankees obviously respect him. They want his opinion to help inform day-to-day operations. That’s obvious. He’s the pick. He wouldn’t get the job if the Yankees didn’t feel that way.

That said, Boone also knows that he doesn’t have it all figured out. As a first-time coach and manager, Boone will understand that he’ll have to lean on experienced, respecting pitching coach Larry Rothschild. It’s also likely the Yankees will put an experienced bench coach next to him. That means Boone can be molded — at least in some ways — into the manager the Yankees’ want.

The Yankees began their manager search after the five other openings in baseball were filled, so GM Brian Cashman has been and continues to take his time.

Cashman interviewed long-time Yankees bench coach Rob Thomson and Toronto Blue Jays minor league field coordinator Eric Wedge in the second week of November, then delayed the search for a week to attend the GM Meetings in Orlando.

Now five weeks old and still in the first round, the search picked up again Wednesday with newly retired World Series champion outfielder/designated hitter Carlos Beltranmaking a short trip from his Manhattan home to Yankee Stadium to meet with Cashman and staff. He’s the sixth candidate to succeed Joe Girardi, who was told way back on Oct. 24 that his 10-year run was over.

Will there be more candidates?

Yankees television analyst David Cone wants to be considered and seemingly would be a great candidate, but the former star pitcher reportedly hasn’t been asked to interview as of Wednesday.

One thing we’ve learned from this already exhausting search is that manager experience absolutely doesn’t matter to the Yankees. Only Wedge has managed in the big leagues and only Thomson has managed in the minors, and that was for one season more than two decades ago.

If Cashman concludes the first round of interviews this week, finalists likely would be flown to Tampa next week for a second interview, this one with owner Hal Steinbrenner participating.

And then …

It seems possible that the Yankees could have a new manager by the end of next week. If not, the search likely will be delayed for another week for the Winter Meetings, which will be held in mid-December in Orlando.

As for Beltran, he obviously knows the Yankees organization well because the 40-year-old Puerto Rican played with the club from 2014-16, his stint ending with an Aug. 1 trade in which he was the last to go in a summer fire sale.

Beltran finished 2016 with the Texas Rangers, then played his 20th and final season this year with the Houston Astros, who took out the Yankees in the ALCS in seven games and then beat the Dodgers in a great seven-game World Series.

A first-time World Series champ, Beltran announced his retirement as a player on Nov. 13 while carrying a dream to manage someday in the big leagues.

Just two weeks later, he’s in the running for the most high-profile manager job in the game.

Following his interview, Beltran spent 20 minutes on the phone in a teleconference with Yankees beat writers.

Here’s what we learned:

Kim Klement | USA TODAY Sports

‘Hundred percent committed’

Beltran says he’d be on all in as Yankees manager, and not just for the short term.

“The most important thing is that I have the support from my family, especially my wife,” he said. “She has been supportive of my career as a ballplayer and she knows that this is something that I’ve wanted to do. I’m a hundred percent committed.

“Being the manager of the New York Yankees, there is a lot of responsibility that comes with that. I’m all for it. As a ballplayer, I got the opportunity to play for a long time. So hopefully I could be a good manager like I was a good player.”

Thomas Shea | USA TODAY Sports

Caught off guard

Beltran was excited to get a call from Cashman last Sunday asking him to interview for the Yankees’ manager job.

He also was surprised.

“I never thought that this moment was going to come this soon after retirement,” Beltran said. “I thought that I was going to be able to spend a little time with the family.”

But …

“The fact that I got the call to be interviewed, this is not something that you can turn away from,” he added. “These types of opportunities, especially one with the Yankees, they don’t come very often.”

Beltran is right. The Yankees had just two managers from 1996-2017, Joe Torre for 12 seasons and then Joe Girardi for 10.

Gene J. Puskar | Associated Press

The setup

During a Yankees-Astros series this year – Beltran didn’t say whether it was in the regular season or the playoffs – he had an interesting pre-game chat with Cashman.

Beltran said, “I told (Cashman) that I was planning on retiring and eventually I said to him, ‘If there is anything that I could do for (the Yankees) organization once I retire, I will be available because honestly the time that I spent in New York was a great time and I really enjoyed every moment of it.’”

Justin Heiman | Getty Images

What kind of manager he’d be

Cashman wants a manager who communicates with players better than Girardi did in recent years, and Beltran seems to check that box because he was known as one of baseball’s best clubhouse leaders during his final seasons as a player.

“I don’t want to be a manager that comes to the ballpark and waits for the game to start,” he said. “I want to be a proactive manager that interacts with the players and is always bringing something to the table for the players.”

Andy Marlin | USA TODAY SPORTS)

Working with Baby Bombers

Beltran says that he felt like he was a player/coach the last few baseball seasons because he spent so much time being a big brother to young players on the Yankees and Astros.

He feels that’s one of the biggest strengths he’d bring if he’s hired as Yankees manager.

“That was a big part of when I was with the Yankees,” Beltran said. “I really took it personal to try to help the younger guys and try to impact them in a positive way. It was something that was important for me to do, try to share the knowledge and the things that I have learned in the game of baseball and try to pass it on to the younger guys.

“When I signed with Houston, I saw myself basically in the same position that I was with the Yankees. A lot of younger guys around me. I was able to work with them. I felt like a coach, there’s no doubt about that, because I was talking a lot. We were having a lot of conversations like player and coach conversations. It was exciting.

“The fact that God gave me the opportunity to play with the Yankees and to spend three years with them with such a young group of guys and at the same time do that with Houston, I think that really helped me to be in the position where I am right now.”

Elise Amendola | Associated Press

View on analytics

Like most Major League clubs, the Yankees are using analytics more and more in decision making.

Beltran was convincing telling reporters that he’s a big fan on using all available information.

“The three years that I was with the Yankees, I have seen the Yankees really invest a lot of money in analytics and try to provide the players information that they can use to try to increase their careers,” he said. “This year, being able to play in Houston … the last month of the season when I didn’t play much I got to see very closely the analytical department working with the players and providing information, which is very valuable.

“When I look at my 20 years that I played in the big leagues, I personally feel that I played naked in a lot of them because I didn’t have all this information. So the fact that teams are investing in analytics and the fact that people are working extremely hard to provide this information for the players I think is a positive thing for baseball and a positive thing for the players.”

Bob Levey | Getty Images

What happened in interview

Beltran was at ease during his first manager interview.

“The meetings have gone well,” he said. “We’re talking baseball. Honestly, I think when it’s related about baseball, I feel very comfortable talking about the game. I feel very comfortable about trying to lay out strategies that we could add and we could apply to this young team.

“There’s a lot of ideas that I have to encourage the guys in the clubhouse and try to make a good environment. It’s been a good interview.

“At the beginning, it’s a little bit overwhelming. It’s a lot of information that you have to digest, but most importantly the part that we’re discussing, an opportunity to be a manager and to manage a team that has so much tradition, it really motivates me to do well.”

Howard Simmons | New York Daily News

Big fan of Terry Collins

Beltran played for 13 managers in his 20-year career as a big leaguer … Tony Muser, John Mizerock and Tony Pena in Kansas City, Jimy Williams, Phil Gardner and A.J. Hinch during his two stints with Houston, Willie Randolph, Jerry Manuel and Terry Collins during his time with the Mets, Bruce Bochy in San Francisco, Mike Matheny in St. Louis, Jeff Banister in Texas and Joe Girardi as a Yankee.

His favorite was a guy who always has been regarded as a players’ managers, the one that the Mets fired on the final day of the 2017 season.

“The one that really stood out to me was Terry Collins for the fact that when I was with the Mets,” Beltran said, “he was able to handle my situation when I was coming from the knee injury in such a way that basically he allowed me to get back into the lineup and at the same time he did a good job of giving me the rest when he needed to give me the rest.”

John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

The anti Girardi

Asked how he’d be different as a manager than Joe Girardi was skippering the Yankees, Beltran delicately made it clear that he’d have better relationship with players.

“I think every manager is different in different ways,” Beltran said. “Joe Girardi, to be able to spend 10 years with the Yankees, I think he did a pretty good job in those years.

“I personally feel that if I get the opportunity to be a manager, I will impact (players) the same way that I did when I was a player. My philosophy is communication. I believe that communication is a big factor and putting it together in the clubhouse with the players

“That’s something that I did when I was a player … being able to have good relationships with the guys and being able to have truthful conversations. At the same time, being a manager is different responsibilities. I think that will be the way that I will focus the most.”

William Perlman | The Star-Ledger

Prep work

Beltran made some phone calls to friends in the game to prepare for his first manager interview.

“Honestly, I had a few conversations with a few guys and one guy that I had a conversation with was Omar Minaya, who was the GM when I was with the New York Mets,” Beltran said. “I have a good relationship with Omar. I basically asked him what I might be asked in the interview and we had a very positive communication.”

John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Backup plan

Now knowing that Beltran told Cashman during the baseball season that he was interested in helping out the Yankees as a retired player, it seems like a good bet that there will be a reunion in some fashion someday soon.

If Beltran isn’t named Yankees manager, he could be return to the organization as a Major League coach or perhaps as a minor league instructor.

“I would love to manage,” Beltran said. “I would love to give back to the game. Going back to the minor leagues is something that I have to consider if it doesn’t happen anytime soon.”

That is Brian Cashman’s way of handling his staff. It’s a way that’s paid off.

The Yankees outperformed expectations by winning 91 games. They took the Red Sox to the final weekend in the AL East and went to Game Seven of the ALCS before falling to the eventual world champion Astros. Their eight prospect-packed domestic clubs produced a winning percentage of .602, the best in the sport.

In each case moves made by Cashman played a big part, which is why Cashman is Baseball America’s 2017 Major League Executive of the Year.

Before Cashman acquired Gleyber Torres, Justus Sheffield, Clint Frazier and Dillon Tate in July 2016 the talent in the Yankees’ system was already easy to spot. Luis Severino, Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez transitioned from high-end prospects at the start of 2016 to very productive big league players in 2017.

So in 2017, the Yankees flipped the script. As contenders, they used that farm system to acquire Todd Frazier, Tommy Kahnle and David Robertson from the White Sox and Sonny Gray from the A’s. The price was steep, but the payoff was significant.

“It was difficult giving up 10 prospects but there were certain guys we were not going to give up at all. They were no go,” said managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner. “Sonny Gray will be great and we keep Sonny, it’s not like we got him for two or three months. The White Sox deal was good. Both deals were well thought out.”

The development of players like Jordan Montgomery, Miguel Andujar, Thairo Estrada, Tyler Wade, Chance Adams, Domingo Acevedo, Albert Abreu, Torres, Sheffield and Clint Frazier provided depth to cover for those lost in trades.

Talk to the people who work for Cashman and those above him and there is common thread connecting them: They aren’t suffocated by him.

“Cash is very deliberative. He seeks consensus and is inclusive in his information gathering,” team president Randy Levine said. “He is not defensive when his opinions are challenged but strong enough to go with his gut in making tough calls.”

Cashman says his job is far too big for one person to handle.

”Baseball operations is an extremely large operation. There is no way you can effectively micromanage domestic amateur, international, professional scouting (and) player development. Most important is selecting the right personnel and empowering them to do their jobs,” he said. “I do believe I am one of the easiest general managers to work for because I do believe we have a tremendous process in place that I learned from a lot of great people over time. We empower our personnel to do their job within the guidelines and be as effective as they possibly can be. All the departments have connected in what currently has become a productive picture of effectiveness and success in the present. It’s our challenge to make that picture bright and shiny.”

Tim Naehring, the Yankees vice president of baseball operations, has been with Cashman for a decade.

“He has done a very good job of leading by example, taking a step back and letting us do our job. He respects a lot of people’s opinions and he always has a platform for a variety of people,” Naehring said.

There was a time when being young and a Yankee meant being dealt because the path to the big leagues was blocked. That, according to Naehring, has changed.

“For years the players worked in the minor leagues thinking, ‘If I play well I might get traded because I am blocked.’ Cash has changed that culture to the point now where young players not only develop as Yankees but have the goal of playing at Yankee Stadium and helping a championship club,” Naehring said.

Damon Oppenheimer has been with the Yankees for 25 years, the last 15 as VP of domestic amateur scouting and appreciates the respect Cashman has for those under him.

“He doesn’t micromanage. It’s ‘Show me the process and get results.’ When he lets you do your job it makes it comfortable,” Oppenheimer said. “You still have heavy requirements but you don’t feel like you are working for a taskmaster who is just beating the hell out of you all the time.”

Jean Afterman has been Cashman’s assistant GM for 16 years. She also knew him as an adversary when she represented players.

“Brian’s remarkable qualities are the same, regardless of which side of the table you sit on.He is smart, forthright, straightforward and honest.He has integrity and an unwavering commitment to the New York Yankees.That he has managed to keep all of these qualities consistent in the roller coaster fire-ride that is New York is an achievement in and of itself,” Afterman said.“In addition to his loyalty to the Yankees, he is incredibly loyal to those who work for him. He is humble, and always gives credit to those around him.”

ew York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has only a few things he truly needs this offseason — and here’s a look at them

File photo

A new manager

What’s that? Duh, you say? Well, yeah. A manager is, in the words of the great Ron Burgundy, kind of a big deal. The Yankees had one. His name was Joe Girardi. Now he’s gone because Cashman and owner Hal Steinbennrer wanted him out.

At the moment, it’s unclear how close they are to finding a new skipper., though They’ve interviewed five candidates: Rob Thomson, Eric Wedge, Hensley Meulens, Aaron Booneand Chris Woodward. If we had to guess who’s in the lead, we’d go with Meulens, who speaks multiple languages, has been the hitting coach of three World Champion Giants teams and would give the Yankees the chance to hire their first minority manger.

What we do know: Neither Steinbrenner nor Cashman has set a timetable for finding a new manager. That means, yes, this could drag into the Winter Meetings. Steinbrenner said he wants the final round of applicants to fly to Tampa to meet with the rest of his family.

Shohei Ohtani

Definitely the best pitcher — and maybe one of the best hitters — on the market, Ohtani represents a rare chance for the Yankees to sign a star when he’s just 23 years old and about to start on the rookie scale for just about $3.5 million, or the approximation of their remaining international bonus pool money.

Plenty of teams will line up to woo Ohtani, who will go wherever he wants, provided the team he picks is willing to pay what’s expected to be the old $20 million posting fee. (The league and Nippon Professional Baseball have hammered out the details.)

But that’s a pittance, considering Ohtani’s talent and youth. With Ohtani, the Yankees would have an affordable, front-end starting pitcher to round out their rotation and put with AL Cy Young third-place finisher Luis Severino.

David Dermer | AP

And maybe CC Sabathia, too?

For a while, it seemed a foregone conclusion the Yankees would likely re-sign the 37-year-old left-hander who went 14-5 with a 3.69 ERA in 27 starts last season and was the guy the team counted on in big spots in the playoffs.

Buuuuut … that whole Ohtani thing. It seems likely the Yankees are waiting to figure out what happens with him before making other moves. Signing Ohtani could be a reason the Yankees don’t re-sign Sabathia. A rotation with Ohtani would also include Severino, Sonny Gray, Masahiro Tanaka and Jordan Montgomery.

With all that, will the Yankees feel the need to pay Sabathia, say, the $12 million to $15 million it might take to bring him back when the goal is to get under $197 million luxury tax threshold and save some money for next season?

Tony Gutierrez | AP

A way to move Jacoby Ellsbury

As it stands, Ellsbury will go into next season as the Yankees’ $21 million fourth outfielder. That’s unacceptable. He’s still got three years left on his contract. It’s all sunken cost.

Cashman needs to find a way to move Ellsbury while getting another team to eat as much of his salary as he can. That’s tough task.

Teams know the Yankees are in a bad spot. They don’t want Ellsbury. Other teams don’t want him, either, at that price. The Yankees might have to attach a decent prospect to shed as much of his deal as possible.